Carly's eyes snapped open. There, standing in the doorway, was Lorenzo Alcazar. There was a smirk on his face as he watched her. Her mind told her to get a hold of herself, but the pounding of her heart told her other things.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as neutrally as possible.
"I heard you were admitted earlier," he said as he found his way to her bedside. He held out a single yellow rose. Her eyes questioned him but it did not override the pleasure she felt as she took it.
"I can't very well sneak in without attracting attention with a whole bouquet, now can I?" he asked with a smile. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"How did you get in here?" Lorenzo smiled.
"Your husband huffed out of here like a child having a tantrum. Lucky for me, he pulled his guard with him for a few moments and wasn't paying attention," he explained as he sat down in the chair next to the bed.
"And the guard?" she asked curiously. Lorenzo sent his gaze heavenward.
"Thank the Lord for flirtatious young nurses," he said with a small smile. Carly chuckled almost shyly as she set the rose on the bedside table.
"Well, you certainly have your ways, don't you?" she asked, looking down at her hands.
"You don't live as long as I have and not learn a few elementary evasive tactics," he said. He watched her closely as she smiled. "I must admit, I expected a little more animosity from you." Carly looked up at him, surprised at his forthright comment – and the fact that she should have expected it too. But she'd come to grips last night exactly why her heart ached at every confrontation, at every harsh word she'd said to him. Her surprise slowly turned into a look of shame.
"I should … I have to apologize to you. I know that I've been a little … hostile … in the past," she said. Lorenzo's chuckle made her look up at him with a frown. "Hey, I'm trying to apologize here, mister!" Lorenzo sat back in the chair.
"By all means, please continue," he said with another chuckle. Carly nodded once.
"Anyways, all you've done is help me or want to help me – despite the little kidnapping incident – and I want to thank you," she said with more sincerity than she'd ever displayed in the past, catching him by surprise. Their eyes met and held. He was silent for a moment before he leaned forward.
"Apology accepted and you're welcome," he said. Carly grinned, immediately at ease with him.
"Great. Now, what is a big, bad ass arms dealer doing sneaking into hospital rooms in the middle of the night?" Carly teased. Her change in demeanor took him by surprise again, but he realized that it was something he could easily get used to.
"I came to see if you and the baby were all right. It's not serious, is it?" he asked, a concerned frown crossing his face. Carly shook her head.
"Everything will be fine. I've just been a little busy lately. Busy enough that I forget some things," she explained. Lorenzo nodded.
"Like forget to eat and sleep?" he asked knowingly. Carly rolled her eyes.
"Don't you start in on me, too," she warned.
"I'm not starting anything, Carly. You're in a hospital. I think that you're adult enough to figure out the rest from here," he said respectfully. Carly smiled, grateful for his confidence in her.
"You're the only one that's remotely hinted at that," she said. Lorenzo shook his head.
"Carly, I was there when you fought against nature for your baby's life. I held your hand, remember? You are extremely strong-willed and intelligent. You'll do what's best," he said. Carly watched him for a second. Did she remember? Of course she did. That moment was burned into her memory forever. And so was the man that had stood by her side.
"Why, Mr. Alcazar. Was that a compliment?" she asked. Lorenzo smiled back.
"I have lists of compliments if you want to hear them," he said honestly. She fought the blush rising to her cheeks.
"Who would have thought that a big, tough, intimidating criminal like yourself could be such a charmer?" she asked, a hand over her heart.
"Why, Mrs. Corinthos. Was that a compliment?" he asked, feigning shock. Carly grinned smartly.
"Which part?"
"All of it," he grinned. Carly shook her head as she laughed.
"Incorrigible," she muttered. All of a sudden the door to her room opened.
"Hey, Car …" Courtney started as she came to a halt, noticing the laughing companion. " … ly." Carly sat herself up in her bed, waiting for Jason and Sonny to burst through the door as well. Her worried gaze fell on Lorenzo. She didn't want anything to happen to him – not if she could prevent it.
"Courtney, what - " Carly started but Courtney held up her hand.
"Don't worry, Carly. I just came up here to tell you goodnight. Jason and Sonny are down at the limo," she said, her worried eyes glancing at Lorenzo, who was in the process of standing up. Courtney watched with interest as Lorenzo took Carly's hand.
"Take care of yourself, Carly. I don't want to have to visit you here again," he told her. Carly squeezed his hand.
"I know about the truce, Lorenzo," she said. "I know that it's over." Lorenzo was silent as he looked to Carly and then to Courtney.
"Yes, it is," he confirmed, his unusual jovial mood flying out the window. "But I want you to know – you both to know – that even though I don't plan on being the aggressor in this little conflict of interests, I don't plan on being an easy target, either. Whatever action taken against me, I will defend and retaliate. The only thing I can assure you of is that neither one of you will be harmed by me. Or be used in any way as leverage." That being said, he let go of Carly's hand. Courtney nodded curtly in understanding, but an uncertain look remained on her face as Lorenzo made his way to the door.
"Goodnight, Carly. Ms. Mathews," he said, nodding to them both and taking his leave. Courtney looked at the door the man had just exited and then turned back to Carly with a frown.
"What the hell, Carly?" she asked, finding the chair that Lorenzo had just vacated.
"Courtney …" Carly started to explain. Courtney shook her head with a sigh and leaned onto the bed.
"No, Carly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump at you like that. It's just that every time I see that man, I remember and I feel guilty all over again," she said. Carly reached over and took the younger woman's hand.
"I'm sorry, Courtney," she said. Courtney looked at Carly, a question in her eyes.
"How do you do it, Carly?" Carly looked at her in confusion.
"How do I do what?" she asked.
"How do you look at him and not see all the horrible things he's done? How can not feel angry when you see him?" Carly frowned as she settled back down on the bed.
"Courtney, it's … it's different for everyone in how they handle situations like that. People do things that other people find unfavorable all the time. I guess because I was always one of those people that did the unfavorable, I can understand people's motivations better than most. I have my motivations for doing everything I do. Just like Lorenzo has motivations for doing what he does – which I won't get into. I mean, you had your motivations for marrying AJ and working for Coleman, right?" Carly pointed out, causing the other woman to blush at the mention of her 'dancer' days.
"Forget I said anything," the slightly embarrassed woman said. Carly smiled and pat Courtney's hand in comfort.
"I guess to make a long explanation short, I look at Lorenzo differently because I know why he does what he does – and it's not because he's a cold-hearted bastard. And I guess I look at him differently because I feel like 'Carly' around him, not someone else," Carly explained further. Courtney's look was now one of concern.
"We all love you, Carly. Why don't you feel like yourself around us?" she asked. Carly smiled, but it was pained.
"I do, Courtney, some of the time. I know you guys accept me for who I am, and that's why I love you and Jason and - " Carly stopped. She knew it would be a blatant lie if she said that Sonny accepted her for who she was. Courtney's eyes went wide when she realized Carly wasn't going to say her brother's name.
"Carly, Sonny loves you," she whispered. Carly nodded.
"And I love Sonny. That's the damnable misery of it all," she said. Courtney stood up from the chair and sat on the bed closer to Carly.
"Then why, if you love Sonny, all the crap with Alcazar? The man is in love with you – or as close as that man can come to loving anything. Why are you stringing him along?" Courtney asked earnestly. Carly looked at her sister-in-law. There were questions running repeatedly inside of her head at Courtney's inquiry. Questions she knew she couldn't voice to Sonny's sister. She looked over quickly at the yellow rose sitting on her bed table. Yellow … for understanding and friendship. What if it wasn't Lorenzo she was stringing along? What if she was stringing along her own husband?
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Courtney had left some time ago and most of the hospital was settling down for the night. Carly couldn't sleep. The nurse had come in a few minutes before and offered to give her something, but Carly had refused. Now, she was beginning to doubt that decision. With a sigh, Carly threw back the covers and put her feet on the cold tile. After putting on her robe, she made her way towards the slightly ajar door. As she reached for the knob she heard something that chilled her blood.
"… get rid of Lorenzo Alcazar. They say he's creating too much of a stir in town," one of Sonny's guards said. Frowning, Carly leaned closer.
"Where did you hear that, Sam?" another guard asked.
"It's a rumor going around. They say that someone's putting a hit or something out on him," 'Sam' replied.
"Who?" Peeking through the door, Carly could see a shoulder shrug.
"Don't know for sure. Roscoe, probably. Or maybe one of the Five Families. One of the other guards told me that it's even going to go down sometime this week." Carly knew enough about the business to know that if there were rumors, there was truth to them. And she knew enough about the business, and Lorenzo, to know that he had probably already heard those same rumors. Yet, she couldn't help the bad feeling that came over her. She listened a bit more as the two men shared whatever other gossip there was going around Port Charles. A few minutes later, she startled both men as she opened the door and pretended to have not heard a thing.
"Hey, could one of you go to the nurses' station and see if they could bring me a sleeping pill? I've had enough of counting sheep," she asked sweetly. One of the guards chuckled.
"Right away, Mrs. Corinthos. We'll bring it in to you," he said. Carly nodded with a small smile before returning to bed. As she brought the covers up around her, she couldn't help the worry that plagued her. As the nurse came in and gave her the medication, Carly could only hope that the worry was for nothing.
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A/N -- Like it? Hate it? I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with this part (I like the Carly/Lorenzo scene, but at the same time, I don't) – but right now, it'll have to do. It is certainly a plot setter. While I was in the middle of writing this part, an extreme moment of inspiration hit (grins evilly) and I had to go to a fresh document to write the pages and pages of ideas that came to my head so I didn't forget them. Trust me when I say there is PLENTY of drama yet to come.